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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26935996">reminisce</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastbattlecry/pseuds/lastbattlecry'>lastbattlecry</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Event Fill, F/M, Gen, Gift Fic, Soft Zuko (Avatar), fall - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:22:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>517</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26935996</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastbattlecry/pseuds/lastbattlecry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko, Toph, and the season of fall.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Toph Beifong &amp; Zuko, pre-Toph Beifong/Zuko - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>58</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>reminisce</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For my discord eventfill!</p><p>Hope you like it zkveer!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Zuko sat quietly away from the rest of the group, looking up at the night sky painted with silver stars. It had only been a few months since the Comet, and the first time they had all been together outside of their responsibilities to their people, and he found that the way the leaves were turning gold and red, the way the air was crisp with the pre-bite of winter, was beautiful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t taken the time to just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> and enjoy the world around him since </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was… nice. To just exist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A quiet thump sounded next to him, Toph pressing against his side, burrowing into it, and Zuko smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s cold,” she grumbled, shivering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The temperature had dropped rapidly once the sun went down, but Zuko didn’t feel the cold like she did. The perks of being a firebender.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here,” he said, handing her the sweater Uncle had made for him. It was a pretty periwinkle, and darker blue on the bottom hem. It was large on him (“You’re a growing boy,” Uncle had laughed.”) and would absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>dwarf</span>
  </em>
  <span> Toph.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tugged it on over her usual green tunics, tucking her hands into the sleeves, and leaned against his side, wrapping a blanket over her legs and feet. “Got some of that weird candy Sokka was screeching about, wanna try it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toph fished out a couple of the weirdly colored cone shaped pieces, handing Zuko a few of them. “Bottoms up,” she smirked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tossed one in his mouth, and chewed for a little while. It was… an interesting taste.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Blegh</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Toph spat, wiping her tongue on the sleeve of his sweater. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> was not candy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I kinda liked it,” Zuko admitted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shoved the bag at him, giving a dirty look. “Keep it, that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>disgusting</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and I eat mud.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He popped another in his mouth, deliberately chewing loudly just to make Toph snort and shove him. They both laughed, relaxing into each other, trailing off into quiet. Zuko went back to watching the stars, and Toph closed her eyes, placing a hand on his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko learned that Toph did that to listen to his heartbeat, said that she found it relaxing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like how he used to find his mother’s heartbeat soothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tilted his head back, silently naming all the constellations that Mother taught him. His mother loved fall, and said it was the best time of year. It was the time for warm coco, and blanket snuggles. It’s when the harvest came in, when the world became a little more sharper, more clear, when the edges between this world and the next blurred.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He liked to think that he was closer to her when fall came, that she lingered nearby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Toph whispered, sounding half asleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko shifted to look at her, and found that fall looked wonderful on her. “Nothing,” he said into the quiet, only the silvering sky a witness to his thoughts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then think about nothing quieter, I’m trying to sleep,” came the disgruntled reply, and Zuko couldn’t help but laugh softly into the wind.</span>
</p>
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